William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody is one of the legends of the American western frontier. As a teen he rode for the pony expressed and then drove for the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War. He later rejoined the army as a scout and was awarded the medal of honor for his valor during the Indian Wars. His fame became worldwide, however, through his flamboyant Wild West shows which toured not only across the American West but through England and Europe.

John M. Burke served as Cody’s publicist and promoter for the Wild West shows, propelling him into celebrity status. From his preface to this biography:

"An association of some thirty years with the subject of these pages, a familiarity with his history gained by opportune meetings and conversations with comrades now living, and those since dead—who were witnesses of the events that assisted to make the individual prominent—makes me feel it a public duty to accede to the publisher’s request to compile a short, sharp, and veracious account of the unique history of this picturesque character.

"The compiler of the accompanying pages has attempted to present to the reader, in a terse, compact compendium of facts, the story of a career that, if given in a detailed biography, would absorb volumes, believing that owing to his prominence at home and abroad the public desire some authentic knowledge of the notable events in his career. In fact, here are presented a few plain truths, unadorned, for the benefit of those too occupied to have heretofore learned the story and triumphs of the frontier lad of nine years, from the wild Western scenes of Kansas and Nebraska, from the prairies of the Platte to the parlors of the East and the palaces of Europe." ( Larry Wilson)

How to claim a part, and "how it all works" here To find a section to record, simply look at point 5. below at the sections. All the ones without names beside them are "up for grabs." Click "Post reply" at the top left of the screen and tell us which section you would like to read (include the section number from the left-most column in the reader list, please). Read points 6. to 8. below for what to do before, during and after your recording.

Is there a deadline? We ask that you submit your recorded sections within 1-2 months of placing your claim. Please note that to be fair to the readers who have completed their sections in a timely way, if you haven't submitted your recording(s) after two months, your sections will automatically be re-opened for other readers to claim, unless you post in this thread to request an extension. Extensions will be granted at the discretion of the Book Coordinator. If you cannot do your section, for whatever reason, just let me know and it'll go back to the pool. There's no shame in this; we're all volunteers and things happen.Please do not sign up for more sections than you can complete within the two month deadline.

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DURING recording:No more than 0.5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning of the recording!Make sure you add this to the beginning of your recording:START of recording (Intro)

"Chapter [number] of Buffalo Bill from Prairie to Palace. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit: librivox DOT org"

At the end of the book, say (in addition): "End of Buffalo Bill from Prairie to Palace, by John M. Burke."

There should be ~5 seconds silence at the end of the recording.

Please remember to check this thread frequently for updates!

AFTER recordingNeed noise-cleaning?
Listen to your file through headphones. If you can hear some constant background noise (hiss/buzz), you may want to clean it up a bit. The latest version of Audacity is recommended for noise-cleaning. See this LibriVox wiki page for a complete guide. Save files as
128 kbps MP3
buffalobill_##_burke_128kb.mp3 (all lower-case) where ## is the section number (e.g. buffalobill_01_burke_128kb.mp3)

Please always post in this forum thread when you've sent a file. Also, post the length of the recording (file duration: mm:ss) together with the link.[/i][/color]

Actually, it was beef and pork barbecue with all the trimmings. Entertainment was banjos and fiddlin'. It was the finale of a continuing professional education program I put together. The state was running the place as a state park and museum. The folks who attended enjoyed it.

Always a pleasure to work with you. I think the readers will enjoy this.